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In October's release of the monthly Food Demand Survey (FooDS), I mentioned that we asked a few questions about preferences for changes in the food stamp program being batted around in ongoing debates about the farm bill.

I discuss the results in detail in a post over at farmdocdaily: http://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2013/10/public-opinion-about-food-stamp-program.html

Here is what I had to say there:

Uncertainties surrounding the future of farm policy remainbut these results provide some insights into which policies are likely to bemost popular in public opinion. Althoughthere is little support for large cuts in benefits, moderate cuts are morepalatable. Moreover, there are issuessuch as adding work requirements, reducing the length of participation, andmaintaining eligibility rules that have budgetary implications and that arepopular in public opinion. While theHouse decision to decouple farm programs from SNAP may ultimately cause a breakdown in the urban-rural political collation that has held together the farmbill for decades, it is a move that the vast majority ofAmericans support.

As I mentioned there, it is important to recognize that public opinion does not necessarily equate with economically efficient policies, nevertheless, it is important to know what the public thinks.